Holly Tree
By onemorething
- 695 reads
Broodmares no longer,
women should reclaim
the holly tree, the bleed
of berries that feed
a mistle thrush, and
in a hedgerow, a harbour
for the toad and slow worm
beneath its umbrella
of thorns. In the understory
of an evergreen, dark months
wheel the wane, and above,
spines bear lightning and pain
the feet of a passage
of witches. Kingless, midwinter
returns to solstice, a parabole
to bloom and bounty: prickled,
unflowered. Do not tell me
some morality tale or any male
appropriation of a history -
all tongues are ploughs
to the earth
of a story retold.
Image is from here: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holly_-_Mary_Delany.jpg
Also on Twitter: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mistle_thrush.jpg
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Léon_Bonvin_-_Vase_of_Holly_-_Walters_371662.jpg
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Comments
Ooh reminds me the solstice
Ooh reminds me the solstice is coming up.Anything with a "passage of witches" is all good with me.
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Enjoyed this, evoke their
Enjoyed this, evoking their mystery and fierceness. Hollies seem to me like Amazons in their dark green armour, fighting on when all other trees have surrendered to Winter. You have made a beautiful way of illustrating strength for females :0)
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Spiky. Like the holly. The
Spiky. Like the holly. The poem mirrors perfectly the thing.
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All of it is wonderful, but
All of it is wonderful, but those last few lines, about the telling of history, are magnificent. Another marvellous piece of work.
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